


The Crucial Heart

by spellitwithyourpeas



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6771517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spellitwithyourpeas/pseuds/spellitwithyourpeas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: "You just left" and "I want you to fight for me"</p>
<p>Frank was fucked. He’d known it for a while now. He always had a knack for the details. Probably how he’s stayed alive so far. It wasn’t just luck.<br/>But when those details made his breath hitch and his heart clench that’s when he knew he was in too deep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Crucial Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I really hate summaries so if you got past it to the fic THANK YOU
> 
> Prompt list from http://fangirlinside.tumblr.com/post/138988449486/prompt-list

_“I've heard it said that God is in the details. It's the same with the truth. Leave out the details, the crucial heart, and you can damn someone with the bare bones of it.” ~Libba Bray,_

Frank was fucked. He’d known it for a while now. He always had a knack for the details. Probably how he’s stayed alive so far. It wasn’t just luck.

But when those details made his breath hitch and his heart clench that’s when he knew he was in too deep.

The way she bit her lip when she was stuck on a story. The fire in her eyes when they argued. The unwavering compassion. Her incessant search for the truth. The way she sat with him through the memories-a quiet bystander. Even the ones that made his heart race in fear. Her fucking smile.

He was a sap and a goddamn coward.

And like all the cowards he knew, he ran. Frank cut off all contact with her. Dumped the burner phone she had the number to, changed up hide outs, and found a new coffee joint. He threw out the copies of The Bulletin he had laying around and refused to touch another.

A week went by before Karen thought the worst. He was dead in a gutter somewhere and sooner or later someone would find him and proclaim The Punisher to be officially dead and gone. The imagery of it all only fueled her search for him.

But then the familiar crime scene patterns popped up again. Her mind raced with the possibilities, but strayed from the one that hurt the most and seemed most logical. 

He didn’t want to see her.

She’d even called Matt. He picked up right away, “Karen is everything ok?”. They rarely talked anymore.

“Yeah everything’s fine…I was just wondering…have you seen Frank around recently.”

There was a pause before he answered, evenly, “Yeah I’ve run into him a few times.”

“Oh, so he’s doing ok?” She cringed. This wasn’t going well.

“Um aside the obvious, yes I think so. What’s this about Karen?” She shrugged, wondering if he could tell over the phone.  

“He just hasn’t been in contact lately…Matt, please don’t take this the wrong way, but have you asked him to stop seeing me?” Karen held her breath.

“…Not recently.”  She exhaled, back to square one it is.

It was an effort to keep her tone lighthearted, Karen was sure he could at least sense that, “Ok, thanks Matt. Take care.” She hung up quickly to avoid the lecture she knew he wanted to give.

Instead, Karen threw herself into her work nonstop. He knew where she lived, he had her number. She was done chasing him, but her decisiveness didn’t stop the bitterness from setting in.As the months dragged on she’d resigned herself to his absence. Resolved to move on and not live in the past.

So when she came home one night to find him sitting hunched over at her kitchen table she thought she’d imagined it. The sight was jarring and everything came flooding back.

“Frank.” It was a whisper of disbelief. Karen quickly set her things down and made her way towards him. Eyes roving over his figure intent on catching any sign of an injury, but he wouldn’t look at her.

“You just left.  No word, no phone call, just up and left Frank. I thought you were dead and rotting in some abandoned warehouse!” Her passionate outburst evoked nothing in him. “After everything, don’t I at least get an explanation?” It was like talking to a damn brick wall.

Karen’s fingers twisted together, restless with nervous energy. Finally, with eyes cast down, she quietly asked, “What did I do wrong?”

That got a response. Frank tilted his head with a look that she could only describe as wounded. Reserved for the passing memory of his family, never for physical pain. He was always stone cold when she stitched him up.

“No, no, no-Karen, this wasn’t you.”

“Fine. Then what? What was so bad to put me through that-I mean is it about my safety? Because you know-,”

“It’s not about your safety.” Frank interrupted, his voice soft, but still just as rough. “It’s about-,” he ducked his head, lump heavy in his throat. Frank swallowed before meeting her eyes. She was so concerned. He could see it. The patience, the compassion, and it hurt. Her own unknowing form of brutality. Karen kneeled before him, hands folded in her lap. “Just…talk to me Frank. We’ll figure it out.”

“I think I’m in love with you and it scares the shit out of me.” It was strangled. Like he had to dig it out like a bullet under his skin. Painful as all hell, but this lacked the same relief.

Karen’s eyes widened, sitting silently in shock.

Frank continued, speaking lowly, “And I don’t want to be. Christ-I want to be done with you.” She flinched at his words. The intensity grew as did the harshness to his tone. “I lost my wife-the mother of my children-and I couldn’t… didn’t stop it. That part of me died with them Karen.”

Frank felt weighted down by the consuming exhaustion he came home with. It never left. No matter how many people he put down, no matter how much blood was spilled, that tiredness lingered in him along with the ghosts of his family. “I can’t give you anything. Hell, I’m fucked up Karen…I’m so…I’ve got nothing to give you but shit that you don’t deserve. So what do you want from me?” It wasn’t angry or malicious, just tired and her heart broke for it.

“I want you to fight for me. For us.” The calmness of her words took him by surprise. “And I’ll fight with you. I know you don’t consider yourself to be happy Frank, but if these past couple of months have been  _better_  separated, then I won’t argue. I won’t chase after you. But I don’t think they were.”

Frank shook his head and Karen gave a sad smile “Right.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear before she asked softly, “So what brought you back?”

He gave a halfhearted smile. “Turns out pretending your dead to me isn’t that easy.” Karen scoffed, moving to stand, “I could have told you that.”

Frank’s eyes followed her as she rubbed her own tiredly. “So uh, what now?” he asked, taking her gently by the wrist, pulling her slowly in till she rested on his knee. Karen smiled, relaxing into him. She’d missed him and this-the quiet intimacy between them. It had developed slowly- a hand guiding her at the small of her back, the brush of her thumb along his jaw tracing a new bruise, and touching knees as she leaned closer on the couch to stitch up his arm.

The first time Karen had purposefully touched him it was a simple gesture of comfort. A hand over his. Frank had been talking about his family and grown quiet. He didn’t need to tell her that day what was bothering him. It was Lisa’s birthday and he’d stilled at her touch. So used to keeping her at a physical distance, the only exception was when bullets were flying. It was ever so slow- the crumbling of his composure- but Karen noticed. Never commented, just watched the subtle movements. All these observations cataloged in her mind.

And it was because of these moments, that Frank’s declaration of love didn’t surprise her. The fact that he’d said it so adamantly-yes- but not the words. The weight of them was tremendous. Karen knew the toll it took on him. Her fondness for him was more obvious. It could only be love and she gave herself over to it silently, resigned to solitude. Never pining, just accepting the reality that it was destined to be one sided. Or so she thought.

What now? His question was still up in the air. Karen leaned in slowly, giving him time to pull away. But he didn’t, his eyes flickered over hers, stopping to rest on her lips. But Frank closed the distance, knotting his hands in her blond hair as he kissed her slowly, hungrily. She moaned, raking up her skirt as she shifted to straddle him. He trailed a hand down to her waist, his grip hard.

Karen broke the kiss putting a hand on his chest, “Wait”. Frank released his hold, brushing her hair back. Her breath ragged as she asked, “Do you still want to talk?”

His face reflected a blatant  _what do you think_? But he answered with, “Do you have an answer yet?” The dark, teasing rumble of his voice made her flush. He gave her a once over, a sly look airing on the side of appreciation.

Her brow furrowed, “No, not yet.” Karen leaned back in, rolling her hips experimentally. Frank’s eyes darkened and the grip that had traveled down to her thighs tightened. “Think I’m about done with talking tonight. You?”

Karen hummed in response, lips tracing his jugular. Frank’s hands were steady as they slowly slid up under her skirt. She sighed, eyes closing at his touch, “Yeah, yeah I’m done.”

Karen had crossed the tape in the hospital, but Frank was crossing to her side now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :) find me on [tumblr](http://lightofpage.tumblr.com/)


End file.
